Technical writing can be challenging even if you’re not concerned about marketing. After all, you need to keep in mind your potential target audiences and their different needs. But if you add marketing into the technical writing equation, you face some additional challenges.
As you think about who your target audience is, you need to consider whether you’re writing for a lay audience or a technical audience. However, even if you’re targeting a technically savvy audience, you need to make sure that even the less technically versed decision makers can appreciate your message as well. Besides, why limit yourself.
Ideally, you’ll find a way to write about your subject matter clearly and in a way that even not so technically inclined readers can appreciate.
Most importantly, you need to make your writing interesting. Here’s what this means:
a) Connect with the reason why people will be reading your articles or documents
Technical writing for marketing is really not that hard. Just think about what you want to accomplish! If you’re marketing something to someone, you’re usually trying to solve a problem. So figure out what the problem might be and address that problem.
In addition or instead, there may be an aspect of opportunity. Not every gadget solves a major problem. Some of them simply enhance what other gadgets can do and do it better and/or more effective.
When the first phones with cameras were coming out, people didn’t really worry about the fact that they couldn’t take pictures with their phones. That’s what cameras were for. But once they were alerted to the advantages of having a cell phone that could take pictures, the new phones took off like wildfire.
So when you’re trying to market a product, think about what the problems are that it might solve. And also think about what it can do that would enhance products your target audience is already using and ways in which you can make people’s lives easier and more enjoyable.
b) Make your writing flow
Some people equate technical writing with being boring by necessity. That’s not at all true. You can write about technical subject matter and make it interesting reading.
Remember, no one HAS to read what you write unless they want to. You have to literally seduce them into reading it — preferably all the way through. This is true for any kind of writing, and all the more so for technical writing. How do you do that?
Here’s the key to making people read in a nutshell
You start with an attention grabbing title. Especially in the context of ezine articles, a good title is crucial. But also in offline publications. Just pay attention to the titles of the magazines in supermarket checkout lines and you get the idea. Just find an equivalent to your technical writing topic. After that, just keep them reading until they get to the resource box and click on the link.